Product Code Database
DWDB-TV (channel 27) is a television station in Metro Manila, Philippines, serving as the flagship of the GTV network. It is owned and operated by GMA Network, Inc. through its licensee and subsidiary Citynet Network Marketing and Productions, Inc. (CNMPI), alongside GMA Network flagship DZBB-TV (channel 7). Both stations, alongside radio flagships DZBB-AM and DWLS, share studios at the GMA Network Center, EDSA corner Timog Avenue, Diliman, Quezon City, Metro Manila while DWDB-TV's hybrid analog and digital transmitting facility is located at the GMA Tower of Power, Charles Conrad Street, Barangay Culiat, Quezon City, Metro Manila (sharing facilities with sister stations DZBB-TV, and DWLS).
While heavily reliant on international content, Citynet 27 did feature a limited number of local productions. Notable among these were Citynet Television News, a news program produced by CNMPI News and Public Affairs, and Citycourt, an anthology series that dramatized significant court cases from Philippine history, including the trial of the national hero José Rizal, also produced by Citynet News and Public Affairs. Citynet formed its own news organization as a sub-division of GMA News and Public Affairs in partnership w/ media networks CNBC Asia and the defunct Asia Business News (the former replaced and merged with the latter). Citynet News & Public Affairs Launch on Facebook The station also notably aired the telenovela Ka Ina, making it one of the few Hispanic TV series locally dubbed in English at the time.
Citynet 27's run as an independent station continued until 1999 when it underwent a rebranding.
In response, DWDB-TV pivoted, transforming into a music channel under the temporary brand EMC,which stood for the Entertainment Music Channel. This made EMC the Philippines' first locally-operated music channel. Just a few months later, GMA struck a deal with Asian broadcaster STAR TV, leading to DWDB becoming the local carrier for Channel V Philippines starting December 19, 1999. This wasn't entirely new territory for GMA, as they had already aired select programming from Channel V since Citynet 27's inception in 1995, introducing viewers to VJs like Filipino descended Trey Farley and Joey Mead.
However, this partnership became short-lived as the PLDT (PLDT) acquired a stake in GMA. This presented a significant conflict of interest, as PLDT already owned MTV Philippines through its subsidiary Nation Broadcasting Corporation and parent company MediaQuest Holdings. This conflict, coupled with the escalating competition from the MTV-affiliated network, ultimately led to Channel V Philippines, and by extension DWDB-TV, signing off on July 25, 2001.
A significant shift occurred in November 2005 when DWDB became a repeater for DZOE-TV, the flagship station for GMA's new secondary national network, QTV (Quality Television, later simply Q). This arrangement stemmed from an agreement between GMA and ZOE Broadcasting Network, DZOE 11's owner where in exchange for handling QTV's programming, GMA committed to providing ZOE Broadcasting with upgraded facilities and clearance of ZOE-produced content within QTV's schedule. DWDB's UHF signal offered a distinct advantage, providing easier reception in the southern areas of Metro Manila, particularly in Makati and Pasay.
However, DWDB's analog channel was vacated in 2007, ahead of facilitating trials for digital television.
On May 15, 2019, GMA Network's digital test broadcasts transitioned to UHF Channel 15 (479.143 MHz). assigned by the National Telecommunications Commission as the broadcaster's primary digital feed. The move also coincided with the original Channel 27 frequency reverting to analog broadcast, specifically for GMA News TV, following the termination of GMA's agreement with ZOE Broadcasting Network in early June 2019, which led to GMA News TV's former Channel 11 becoming silent. This strategic allocation allowed GMA to continue its analog broadcast feed.
While initial reports suggested ZOE Broadcasting Network would subsequently simulcast its sister station, DZOZ-DTV, ZOE offered no official statement on its immediate future plans. However, ZOE Broadcasting Network would later reactivate Channel 11 on June 22, 2020, following a landmark deal with former rival ABS-CBN, leading to the launch of A2Z Channel 11 on October 10, 2020.
In anticipation of GMA News TV's departure from Channel 11, GMA Network swiftly planned to re-utilize DWDB-TV's UHF Channel 27. The intention was to cease the existing digital test broadcast on Channel 27 by May 27, 2019, and subsequently re-purpose the frequency to broadcast GMA News TV in analog by June 3, 2019, marking the station's return to analog television after 17 years of inactivity. This strategic move aimed to ensure continuity for GMA News TV's viewership.
However, GMA Network needed to allocate time for digital television viewers to re-scan their digital set-top boxes in order to continue accessing its channels under a new frequency assignment. As a result, the network postponed its official relaunch from June 3 to June 4.
The station successfully resumed analog broadcasting at 6:00 a.m. (PHT) on June 4, following a series of test transmissions conducted during off-air hours of its digital signal in the days leading up to the relaunch. With this return, the station also became the originating outlet of GMA News TV in Manila, serving as the primary feed station for its nationwide broadcast, alongside regional counterparts such as those in Cebu and DXRA-TV.
Meanwhile, DZOE-TV missed the scheduled shut-off, leading to a temporary broadcast conflict between the two channels on that day. To mitigate the issue, the former channel gradually reduced its signal strength until it officially signed off on June 5, 2019.
The station signed on for the first time on February 22, 2021, using the GMA News TV sign-on and sign-off notices until the sequence was updated on February 27th.
In November 2025, the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) issued a memorandum circular that planned to switch off analog television in Mega Manila in 12 months. On July 17, 2026, GMA readied to switch off analog television in Mega Manila on the upcoming November 22.
| 7.01 | 480i | GMA | GMA Network | Commercial broadcast (1,000 Kilo-Watts ERP) | |
| 7.02 | GTV | GTV | |||
| 7.03 | HEART OF ASIA | Heart of Asia Channel | |||
| 7.06 | I HEART MOVIES | I Heart Movies | |||
| 7.07 | (UNNAMED) | Reserved Channel | rowspan="3" | ||
| 7.08 | |||||
| 7.11 | |||||
| 7.31 | 240p | GMA 1-Seg | DZBB-TV | 1seg broadcast |
According to the December 31, 2017 press release, the station's upgraded signal transmission expanded its coverage to include the Metro Manila, Rizal, Cavite, Laguna, Bulacan, and parts of Pampanga, Bataan, Nueva Ecija, Batangas and Baguio.
On April 24, 2019, The GMA Network & the Citynet announced that it would terminate its blocktime agreement with ZOE TV by the end of May 2019. The decision came after the release of GMA's June 2018 financial report, which revealed a significant increase in lease payments to ZOE over the past three years, rising from ₱899.90 million on December 31, 2016 to nearly one billion pesos by October 1, 2018. Third-party sources speculated that the Channel 11 Manila would begin simulcasting ZOE's sister station, DZOZ-DTV, following the termination of the agreement. However, ZOE had yet to issue an official statement regarding its future plans. Meanwhile, GMA News TV International's intellectual property, including master control, sales operations, and employees, was successfully transferred & scanned to DWDB-TV on June 3, 2019 at 23:58 on selected digital TV boxes, for the remainder of the final analog broadcast period.
On May 15, 2019, GMA Network began transmitting its digital test broadcast on the UHF Channel 15 (479.143 MHz), which was officially assigned as the permanent frequency issued by the National Telecommunications Commission.
On February 27, 2023, DWDB-TV's feed, along with GMA Network's other digital stations, began broadcasting in 16:9 widescreen format. This update marked the transition from the previous fullscreen resolution (4:3), improving reception across both analog and digital signals via free TV and various cable and satellite providers. This shift followed nearly 28 years of utilizing the older video picture resolution.
|
|
